‘Public relations as a profession is a blend of art & science, creativity & strategy’
At the e4m IPRCCC, panelists spoke about why PR was a perfect choice for a career and what kind of skills were needed to excel in it
With brands increasing their dependency on public relation executives and firms, PR is becoming a popular career choice. At the 13th edition of the annual India Public Relations and Corporate Communications Conference (IPRCCC), a panel discussion was held to discuss the importance of PR as a career choice and why it is so important.
The panel titled, ‘Public Relations: Why is it the perfect career choice?’ was moderated by Madhvi Chaudhary, PR Manager, Media Mic and consisted of Dr Pooja Arora, Independent Researcher and Educator, Neha Singhvi, Director - Public Affairs, Communications & CSR, Games 24 X7, Dr Surbhi Dhaiya, Professor, IIMC, Dr Samir Kapur, Director, Adfactors PR and Anindita Sinha, Head of Corporate Communications, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd.
The panel discussed the implications of being in the public relations field, the expertise that is required to be in the field and how it is a fulfilling career choice.
Sinha believes the PR profession is a dynamic one. “I think it is one of the most dynamic, something you can do every day. Every press release that you need to disseminate, that you need to draft has a new angle to it. And also, I feel, if you really think clinically it is a blend of art and science, it is creativity and strategy. So, I think that gives a kick for any individual to take up this profession.”
Speaking on the importance of PR as a career, Dr. Dhaiya rightly says, “I think why PR is important as a career is because all of us are brimming with ideas. All of us have heard the sentence that an idea can change your life, but, all your ideas, whatever you take off, you cannot actually implement all the ideas. It could be because of any reason, it could be because of financial reasons. So, in that case, we hear a PR specialist is the one who convinces others with his or her ideas. So, you have to have your ideas, basically implemented by others, and that is a great satisfaction because when you see that others are implementing the ideas that are given by you. It instills a sort of satisfaction, a sort of happiness inside you.”
Singhvi talks about the perfect career choice and says PR jobs can never be boring. “In very simple words, PR is a strategic communications process by which you can help how organizations are viewed by the public. In short, it’s about building and protecting reputation. This involves a lot of learning. There is never a dull moment. It is laborious, yes, it is exacting, yes but there will never be a boring moment.”
Arora talks about the skills needed to be in the PR industry. “There are two kind of people who enter PR. One, who are interested in it genuinely, you know, the youngsters who have obviously taken communications and they can talk about things that are out there. They read, write, listen. Listening is a skill that all of us forget. Obviously, problem solving, critical reasoning skills, I think 21st century skills that all of us talk about are actually something that PR people take care of on a regular basis. They are like the guardians of a brand. They take care of the solving problems of a brand, they are coming up with solutions every single day, they're solving crisis. So, if somebody is interested in counseling a brand or understanding what their organization is made of, then definitely PR is for them.”
Kapur explains why PR is a perfect choice of career. “I think this is one choice which has amalgamation of everything. You are a researcher one day, you are doing analysis, measurement etc the other day, third day you are doing execution, then of course you're strategizing. It depends on which client and which sector you're working in. But I think this is one career that has element of everything coming together. And that's why it's near perfection.”
